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enBalzaretti admits retirement fearsRoma full-back Federico Balzaretti has conceded that his long-term pelvis injury may force him to call time on his career.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/balzaretti-admits-retirement-fears
The 32-year-old has not featured in a competitive match since Roma's 1-1 draw with Sassuolo in Serie A last November.
Despite undergoing surgery in the United States and further treatment in Germany, Balzaretti admits he is still in serious discomfort and, with no sign of an imminent return, he admits that retirement is a possibility.
"I wanted to hold this press conference to give you the latest on my injury and explain what I'm going through," he said.
"The issue came up around 10 months ago - I felt pain in my pelvis after the Torino game. As I'd never experienced anything like that, I just thought the pain would pass and I played the following game against Sassuolo.
"At the end of the match I had to stop and we noticed the injury to my pelvis.
"We tried an operation in the United States but it didn't produce great results. Then we tried a number of other things in Germany.
"This injury prevents me from doing even the most basic things on the field - every time I kick the ball it flares up.
"I want to be honest with the fans, just as I have been with my team-mates - sadly I still have months of rehab ahead of me.
"Sadly, this pain might end my career, but I want to say that I'll do everything I can to get back out there. I still feel like a footballer and I will try to get over this injury.
"I feel bad for my team-mates, I feel guilty and I would like to be able to experience the highs and lows with them."
The Italy international moved to Stadio Olimpico in August 2012 and has also represented the likes of Juventus, Fiorentina and Palermo during his career.
news_articleTue, 02 Sep 2014 14:45:25 +0000244257 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comBalzaretti suffers another injury blowRoma full-back Federico Balzaretti has suffered another setback in his recovery from injury and underwent groin surgery on Thursday.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/balzaretti-suffers-another-injury-blow
The 32-year-old Italy international, whohas not featured sinceNovember, reported for pre-season training with the Serie A club, but was sent to see a specialist in Germany last week after experiencing more discomfort.
Roma revealed on Saturdaythat Balzaretti had undergone an operationand isset for another spell on the sidelines.
"The player has already begun post-operative rehabilitation sessions in Trigoria that will involve physical therapy and, starting next week, athletic work," Roma said in a statement on their official website.
The former Palermo man made only 11 appearances for Rudi Garcia's side lastseason as they secured second spot behind Juventus.
news_articleSat, 26 Jul 2014 19:14:38 +0000219335 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comRomas Balzaretti to undergo surgeryRoma full-back Federico Balzaretti is to undergo surgery in an attempt to solve an ongoing groin issue, the club have confirmed.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/balzaretti-undergo-surgery
The 32-year-old has not featured for Rudi Garcia's charges since a 1-1 draw with strugglers Sassuolo on November 10.
Roma have subsequently decided the best course of action is for the Italy international to have an operation, which will take place in Boston, United States.
"Due to a condition of on-going and persistent pain, Federico Balzaretti has gone to visit a specialist in the United States," read a statement on Roma's official website.
"With the aim of the quickest recovery possible, the player, in accordance with the club and medical staff, will undergo an operation in the coming hours for a small sports hernia in the left groin area in the 'day surgery' ward of UMass Hospital in Boston."
No timeline has yet been put on a return for the former Juventus and Fiorentina player.
Roma have enjoyed a superb campaign in Serie A and sit second with 47 points from 20 matches, while the club have also reached the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia courtesy of a 1-0 triumph over Juve on Tuesday.
news_articleFri, 24 Jan 2014 15:48:25 +0000114520 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comBalzaretti hails Garcia for restoring Roma beliefFederico Balzaretti has heaped praise on Roma head coach Rudi Garcia and insisted he has transformed the club since arriving in June.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/balzaretti-hails-garcia-restoring-roma-belief
Garcia replaced Zdenek Zemen in the Italian capital and matched the best start in Serie A history when his side beat Napoli to record their eighth win in as many games.
Roma started last season well but faded in the second half of the campaign to finish sixth in Serie A, before going on to lose the Coppa Italia final to arch-rivals Lazio.
With the departure of key players during the close season – including Erik Lamela, Marquinhos and Maarten Stekelenburg – Garcia had some rebuilding to do and Balzaretti revealed the Frenchman's positive attitude during pre-season gave Roma the belief they needed.
"Garcia did very well in pre-season training to do a certain type of work with us, which laid the foundations for these victories," Balzaretti told a club members' videochat.
"He convinced some players to stay and since he arrived we all believe in this group.
"In football there’s little to invent, so he does simple things and puts them into practice.
"Now it is gratifying to put our training routines on to the pitch, as well as making the club, fans and ourselves happy. We are all Roma."
Balzaretti has started seven games this season and scored once - in the Rome derby when he broke the deadlock against Lazio.
news_articleWed, 23 Oct 2013 18:53:16 +000076502 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comBalzaretti pessimistic over title chancesRoma defender Federico Balzaretti believes that they are still outsiders for the title despite their perfect start to the season.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/balzaretti-pessimistic-over-title-chances
The capital club have won every single game so far this campaign - putting city rivals Lazio and Walter Mazzarri's Inter to the sword - and sit top of Serie A as a result.
Roma missed out on a place in the UEFA Europa League last season as they finished sixth, but new manager Rudi Garcia appears to have had an inspirational effect since taking over in June.
Still, despite their superb form, Balzaretti - a scorer in the derby win over Lazio - was quick to play down their title chances.
"For me it is still very early, these seven games have been important for the signal that we have given to the league," he told Corriere dello Sport.
"But objectively, Napoli and Juventus are more likely than us to push for the title."
Balzaretti admitted that the mentality in the dressing room has improved since last season and credited Garcia for helping bring the team together.
"The transformation is the merit of everyone, we have been able to regroup the dressing room," he added.
"There was a bad climate, a great tension, players with little conviction because the previous year was very tough. Now it is quite the contrary, there is great enthusiasm, great confidence.
"The greatest work he (Garcia) has done is on a psychological level, he has brought together the club and has given confidence and joy to the players who had experienced a terrible season."
news_articleWed, 09 Oct 2013 16:22:48 +000071921 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comTotti conducts Garcias gorgeous Roman orchestra at La Scala del Calcio With seven successive wins since the start of the season, scoring 20 goals and only conceding one, Roma are tearing up Serie A. Our man in Italy Richard Whittle reports on the causes of the Roman revolution...Richard Whittlehttp://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/totti-conducts-garcias-gorgeous-roman-orchestra-la-scala-del-calcio
When Francesco Totti signed what will be his final contract for AS Roma, his greatest hope was that he would see his beloved club back competing for top honours – before he calls it a day when he turns 40, in two years' time.
And after Saturday evening at the San Siro, where Totti produced a wonderful performance as Roma lived up to their 'La Magica' nickname, the veteran must be confident that this season will bring its just reward.
The 3-0 crushing of Inter marked il settobello: a seventh successive win for Rudi Garcia’s side, building on a record start to the campaign. Totti was at the hub of it, scoring the first two – to take his tally to 14 in Milan – and then instigating the breakaway for the third with a deft turn and touch on the edge of his own area.
He thumped home his first from the edge of the area after just 11 minutes; 10 minutes later he equally emphatically dispatched the second from the penalty spot, after Gervinho's snaking run had been recklessly curtailed by Alvaro Pereira.
The third was finished off by Alessandro Florenzi on the stroke of half-time – but it was Totti, on the edge of his 18-yard box, who had hung out the ball to tempt a challenge before flicking a pass for Kevin Strootman to stride towards the Inter area and release Florenzi. The 22-year-old's angled shot summed up the Giallorossi's all-round cutting edge – and this without an out-and-out striker.
Totti has started the season through the middle of the attack, flanked by the hard-running Gervinho and Florenzi, but that position is a mere starting point for the captain to take up well-defined positions in a deeper role. At times, exemplified by the build-up for the third goal, the skipper is almost back in defence.
It's not a licence to roam where he wants. When Roma lost possession, Totti was the first line of defence; when the visitors sat back in the second half, he was the one leading the counter-attacks.
Totti is the conductor of tempo and many of his passes are simple one-twos played around the centre of the pitch or to even more telling effect along the right flank or on the right of the final third where he brought Gervinho and Miralem Pjanic into the game which enabled Florenzi and Strootman to burst forward.
Of course, for all Totti's brilliance this is no one-man show. The runs of Gervinho, Florenzi and Strootman give him plenty of options, but at the same time the redeployment of Daniele De Rossi in front of the defence offers greater cover.
Now once more a settled figure at the club, perennial “future captain” De Rossi is dominating the centre of pitch; when he wins the ball, he is expected to use it in a manner that helps the team build a swift attack.
How Garcia re-arranged Roma
Although Roma have scored a league-leading 20 goals in their seven games, even more impressively they have only conceded one goal – and Garcia has revealed some of the secrets to the side’s new-found solidity. Last season Roma finished outside the European places, but the new French coach has masterminded an amazing turnaround built from the back.
Garcia, whose sister revealed to the Italian press that her sibling had honed his tactical skills playing Subbuteo as a 10-year-old (although he denied any memory of such a pastime), explained that he had studied the two areas where he felt the team had failed last year: quite simply, the attack and defence.
Although Roma scored on a regular basis, Garcia believed that the team should be converting more of the chances they were being served from a strong midfield, where De Rossi and Pjanic took up most of the passing duties.
However, he also felt that the defence was too fragile and the midfield were caught between supporting the attackers and dropping back to cover, which used up a lot of energy. Now, with new signing Strootman also a precise passer as well as a physical presence, there is more balance in the centre of the pitch.
The arrival of 36-year-old goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis has added experience and security, but ahead of him there are further reinforcements that have adapted to Garcia’s game-plan. While former Roma coaches Luis Enrique and Zdenek Zeman demanded that the full-backs pushed high up the pitch, under Garcia they rarely venture forward.
Well versed in the world of Serie A, Douglas Maicon (32) has made an excellent start to the campaign at right-back. Another seasoned veteran, former Udinese centre-back Mehdi Benatia (26), has added strength at the heart of defence – while also getting on the scoresheet twice already. Similarly, the return to form of Italy left-back Federico Balzaretti has added to both defence and attack: the 31-year-old scored the vital opener in the Rome derby against Lazio.
Last but not least, Garcia has been working on the players’ mindset, with motivational speeches on how good they are and how they must have the hunger to return Roma to the top of the Italian game again. This has had a marked effect on Leandro Castan: having looked very indecisive last season, the Brazilian hasn't put a foot wrong so far.
Although a settled side has done well, Garcia will have to start to make changes soon. The yellow cards are mounting up, with Balzaretti already suspended for the next match against Napoli following his sending off at Inter.
For now, substitutions have been kept to a minimum – and when they have occurred, it's often to bring on another wise old head in Rodrigo Taddei (33). Garcia has used the Brazilian five times so far in midfield to help close out games, while Marquinho is another replacement who has played his part in the latter stages of games.
However, it's Totti who still stands head and shoulders above any other player in Italian football. The personal statistics alone are something to behold: the second-highest all-time Serie A goalscorer on 230 goals; 300 overall from 674 competitive games over a two-decade career that began as a 16-year-old on 28 March 1993.
His early form has increased the clamour for a recall to the Italy squad for next summer’s World Cup finals, but for now Totti will be content with a few more virtuoso performances evenings such as Saturday’s at La Scala del Calcio if it enables his beloved club to return to the summit of Serie A.
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featureMon, 07 Oct 2013 10:44:52 +0000Gary Parkinson71444 at http://www.fourfourtwo.com